Change of snow cover and its implications on arctic permafrost by using gravimtetric satellite data

该项目的目的是检测十年期间北极积雪特征变化对永久冻土退化的影响。重点在于活动层。因此，应应用重力卫星数据。为了确定雪的分量，将使用来自水文模型和其他卫星的进一步数据。多年冻土的分布和活动层厚度的发展主要受气温和积雪特征的影响。永久冻土与积雪之间的相互作用是复杂的，因为积雪厚度和持续积雪的覆盖和抵消起着重要的作用。由于气候变化，多年冻土正在退化，活动层厚度在增加，退化主要是由活动层厚度的增加所强迫的。直接从遥感数据很难确定活动层，以积雪作为指标。利用重力卫星资料结合积雪覆盖范围和积雪密度资料，可以对积雪厚度的变化进行大尺度的假设。结合有关活动层厚度的数据，可以评估两个变量的依赖关系。

The aim of this project is to detect the influence of changing snow cover characteristics on permafrost degradation in the Arctic over a ten year period. The focus lies on the active layer. Therefore, gravimetric satellite data should be applied. To determine the snow component, further data from hydrological models and from other satellites will be used. Permafrost distribution and the development of the active layer thickness are primary forced by air temperatures and snow cover characteristics. Interactions between permafrost and snow cover are complex, because snow thickness and on- and offset of a consistent snow cover play an important role. Due to climate change, permafrost is degrading and the active layer thickness is increasing, the degradation is primary forced by the increasing active layer thickness. Directly from remote sensing data, the active layer is difficult to determine, and snow cover is used as an indicator. By using gravimetric satellite data together with data of the snow cover extent and snow density, large scale assumptions of the changing of snow thickness can be made. Together with data on the thickness of the active layer, dependencies of both variables can be assessed.